We’re bringing in five startups who will get two minutes each to give their customer pitch (not their VC pitch), as if meeting a potential customer at a cocktail party (i.e., no slides but OK to drink if you want). To give them feedback, we’ve assembled a top-notch panel of serial entrepreneurs and marketing experts. It’s not a competition, so there’s no judging or ranking—just discussion among the entrepreneurs, panelists and other session attendees.

We’re trying this idea for the first time, so who knows how it will go? But in the entrepreneurial spirit, we’ve mitigated our risks: even if the format doesn’t sing, the session can only be a hit given the participants. (Thanks to Sean O’Malley for helping us connect with a lot of these folks.)